185 The Brides of Dracula ( 1960 )

This  sequel   from  Hammer  is  something  of  a  cheat. The  film  was  in  production  before  anyone  asked  Christopher  Lee  if  he  wanted  to  reprise  the  role  and  had  to  be  hastily  re-written   - bringing  back  Peter  Cushing  as  Van  Helsing )  when  he  said  no. Virtually  all  mention  of  Dracula  was  excised. It's  not  a  bad  film, with  some  good  scenes ( particularly  the  one  between  Van  Helsing  and  the  vampire's  mother )  but  there  are  some  logical  flaws  and  you're  always  going  to  miss  Lee's  screen  presence.

Marianne  Danielle  is  a  young  tutor  journeyng  to  start  her  next  post in  Transylvania. Abandoned  at  an  inn, she  is  invited  by  Baroness  Meinster   ( Martita  Hunt )  to  stay  at  her  castle. Marianne  discovers  that  she  keeps  her  handsome  son  ( David  Peel ) chained  up  and  agrees  to  free  him ( presumably  she  was  intended  as  a  sacrifice  to  him ).  He  kills  his  mother  then   he  and  Marianne  separately  flee  the  castle. There's  a  clear  break  in  the  film  at  this  point. Marianne  is  found  prone  but  unharmed  by  Van  Helsing  who  helps  her  continue  her  journey  but  Meinster  and  his  female  conquests  are  on  her  tail.

Yvonne  Monlaur  ( as  Marianne  Dannielle ) 

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Yvonne  was  a  model  for  Elle  and  appeared  in  French  and  Italian  as  well  as  British  films  throughout  the  sixties  without  landing  the  right  part. She  decided  to  retire  in  1969  and  lived  out  of  the  limelight  until  her  death  last  month  aged  77.

Andree  Melly  ( as  Gina )

Sex : Her  nipples  are  visible  through  her  nightgown

Death : From  blood  loss  after  being  bitten. Vampire  Gina  presumably  perishes  in  the  fire  at  the  film's  climax

Andree  is   the  sister  of  rubber-lipped  jazz  singer  George  Melly. She  was  more  of  a  TV  actress  with  few  film  credits. She  was  also  a  regular  panellist  on  Radio  Four's  Just  A  Minute  in  the  early  seventies. She  seems  to  have  retired  at  the  start  of  the  nineties  and  is  now 84.

Marie  Devereux  ( as  Village  girl )

Sex : Some  cleavage

Death : From  blood  loss  after  being  bitten.  As  a  vampire  she  presumably  perishes  in  the  fire  at  the  film's  climax

Marie  was  actually  Patricia  Sutcliffe  from  London . She  was  an  early  glamour  model  but  found  plenty  of  work  as  a  bit  part  actress. She  was  Elisabeth  Taylor's  stand-in  for  Cleopatra  and  went  to  Hollywood  when  the  production  closed. She  appeared  in  a  couple  of  films  there  but retired  in  1964  to  start  a  family. She  is  now  76.